Changing throttle cable...problem

carl

carl

True Classic
I know retired guys need projects to keep them busy but this is ridiculous.

I have the old cable disconnected from the valve cover and pulled through the fire wall. I have the gas pedal end released from the pedal assembly so the cable is now free at both ends and I only need to pull it through the steal tube. And this is the problem, there is a hard plastic fitting at the front of the tube that the cable goes through but the cable end won't pass through it and the cable fittings at the rear portion of the tube certainly won't pass through the tube so the cable appears capture in the tube and I can't pull it out. What am I missing in my thought process here?
 
I can't see what you are seeing, but

Hi Carl,

In swapping my 78 from carb to FI I had all kinds of throttle cable fun. From what I dealt with, the carb cable should pull thru the tube towards the pedal end.

At the pedal end of the guide tube I found a rubber plug that is supposed to help keep the cable centered. Mine was sliced thru from years of cable wear. It was easy to pull from the tube. Perhaps the hard plastic you found was a newer replacement or just a fix from a PO. Can you coax the plastic fitting out of the tube end?

I did not find anything in the tube or sheath that would obstruct a clean cable end from passing thru. Is the engine end of the cable all crimped/messy from years of attachment? Could yo trim the end of the cable to remove the mess and have a clean end to pull thru?

Can you tell if the cable end is at least making it thru the sheath? Maybe if you disconnect the sheath you will find something. Of course, that means pulling the carpet. Perhaps this race car has none, which would be a good thing.

This is a picture of the throttle guide tube access for removing the e-clip that holds the sheath to the tube. It is a smallish oval opening behind the larger e-brake rectangular opening. You can see the old cable hanging out of the tube.
accelcableaccess2.jpg
 
Everything holding the cable in place is pulled free, just stuck inside the metal tube since there are plastic fittings at both ends and the one in the front of the tube, next to the gas pedal is stuck in place. I'll try to post some pics, shooting in gas pedal access panel is rather hit or miss since I can't see the view finder. And here I thought removing the clutch/brake pedal assembly was the big pain on Xs.
 
Plastic fittings at both ends?

Hmm, was the 79 different from a 78 every other year? If could be I guess, but perhaps you have some custom set up you are working with. This picture shows the sheath ends for the FI (top) and carb (bottom).

accelcable2txt-1.jpg


For both FI and carb setups, the brass ferrules at the end of the sheath plug into the end of the guide tube. The ferrule slides into the tube and you secure the sheath to the tube by clipping the ferrule's disk to the flare on the end of the tube. The ferrules stick into the tube end about an inch and I don't see how there could be any room for a plastic fitting there.

I am puzzled. :) :hmm:
 
pics

This first picture shows the end of the gas pedal assembly.



Next photo shows the rear end of the cable pulled through the fire wall, you can see the metal core going into the back of the steel tube.



This third picture is of the forward end of the steel tube with the cable end that attaches to the pedal assembly bent off at an angle and you can see a black plastic fitting in the forward end of the tube which is what is keeping me from pulling the cable through the tube.

 
OK, so everything 79+ is different

I never messed with the cable on the 79 I had. My accel cable experiences have come from trying to swap an FI 1500 into my 78 which required a lot of effort to change out the style of accel cable. Looking at your pictures, and then looking at MWB item pages tells me that what I "assumed" to be an FI accel pedal set up is actually the setup used for all 1500s from 79 on.

My 78 did not have that large black fitting at the pedal end, just a rubber grommet that was easy to pull out. If that accel cable is the same as the FI (according to MWB it is), then it is fixed length and it must pass thru that hard plastic fitting at the pedal end to get installed. Other than lots of heat, or lube, or brute force I am out of ideas.
 
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It's rubber on mine

My '81 has that same black end but mine was rubber so I was able to pull it off the end of the tube. Then I fed the cable and end through the rubber, then reattached the rubber grommet back on the tube end. Maybe yours has just hardened for some reason.
 
That black plastic fitting at the front of the tube is coming out one way or the other. It's currently stuck in the tube but once I get it out I may just cut a slot in it to release the cable from it.
 
Problem solved

Turns out the black rubber fitting on the forward end of the throttle cable tube is soft plastic and pops off the flared end of the tube. You can then see that the hole through this piece is floppy enough to let you pull the cable end through it. The problem from the start was the inability to know what this whole configuration was because as large as that access opening in the tunnel is, you really cannot look down on this connection. I got out my angle cutter and cut the top access opening back about 5" inches so I could actually lay my eyes on the area in question and then it all became quite obvious.

carl
 
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